Longitudinal modular single-piece elements resembling a vertical row of tiles

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns longitudinal modular single-piece elements, resembling a vertical row of longitudinal tiles, and assembled to produce a roof cover. They consist of five main elements which being sot juxtaposed and overlapping through guiding and positioning systems reproduce the general aesthetic appearance of a roof. The device consists of concave channel elements which are juxtaposed with one another by means of bilateral notches and are screwed on the purlins of a framework. Convex covering elements are fixed, by pressure, on the channel elements by means of two vertical toothed supports co-operating with those of the channel elements. Border elements are interlocked by assembling means co-operating with those of the channel elements of the ridges of the roof. A so-called roof-peak element comprising a locking system penetrating a conventional sealing completes the aesthetic appearance of the roof. The invention is useful in the building industry for roof-building.

[0001] The present invention relates to longitudinal elements molded in a light material such as plastic, resin or composite, resembling the appearance and coloring of a vertical row of conventional roof covering such as tiling.

[0002] According to the prior art, roof coverings are produced by laying heavy and fragile individual tiles, which require accurate and careful laying in order to produce an appearance which is satisfactory in terms of the straightness of the rows of the roof covering.

[0003] This conventional procedure for laying a roof covering tends to slow down the rate of execution.

[0004] The solution proposed by the present invention enables all of these drawbacks to be overcome.

[0005] The device according to the invention consists of modular single-piece concave and convex longitudinal strips resembling a vertical row of tiles, and having variable lengths according to the roof covering to be produced.

[0006] Each of these single-piece strip elements has guiding and positioning means for the adjacent and covering elements.

[0007] Made from light materials, this strip system thus increases the ease and speed of execution of the work and resolves the problem of alignment of the materials encountered in conventional laying.

[0008] The laying of these different elements by juxtaposition and overlapping enables the general esthetic appearance of a conventional roof to be preserved.

[0009] This device consists of five main elements according to the structure to be produced:

[0010] A concave channel element (FIG. 1, FIG. 1 bis)

[0011] A convex cover element (FIG. 2, FIG. 2 bis)

[0012] A border element for the edge (FIG. 3, FIG. 3 bis)

[0013] A border element for a wall extending beyond the roof (FIG. 4)

[0014] A so-called “roof peak” element (FIG. 5, FIG. 5 bis)

[0015] The first concave channel element (FIG. 1) has a flat part (1) on its underside.

[0016] On its surface it has a concave part (2) resembling the channel of a conventional tiled roof, whose projecting edges are toothed at regular intervals as far as the base (3) to permit the assembly of the convex cover element (FIG. 2).

[0017] The lateral parts of the element are made in the form of projections having at their ends guiding and positioning notches for the adjacent elements (4), and, at regular intervals, holes for fixing by screwing on the framework (5); these holes are spaced at intervals of approximately ten centimeters to permit screwing on to various types of framework. At its lower end, the element has two roughened areas, one on each of its lateral projections, for locking the convex cover element (FIG. 1 bis, no. 6).

[0018] Also at the lower end, only the concave part resembling the tile projects from the flat part, in order to complete the esthetic appearance of the roof edge (FIG. 1 bis, no. 7).

[0019] The second element, called the convex cover element (FIG. 2), has on its underside two vertical toothed supports (8) extending over the whole length of the element, for positioning and assembling the element on the channel elements (FIG. 1). At its lower end, the element has a notch (FIG. 2 bis, no. 9) on each of the two vertical supports, corresponding to the roughened areas of the channel element (FIG. 1 bis, no. 6), for locking the cover element.

[0020] Also at the lower end, only the convex part resembling the tile projects from the two supports, in order to complete the esthetic appearance of the roof edge (FIG. 2 bis, no. 10). The surface of this convex element resembles conventional tiles in its shape and coloring.

[0021] The edge border element (FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 bis) varies according to the architecture of the building to be roofed.

[0022] The edge border element (FIG. 3) is designed to be laid to finish the covering on the edge of the roof; it consists of an asymmetric convex part (11) on its surface and an interlocking system (12) on its underside, corresponding to the notches present on the projections of the channel element.

[0023] The surface of this element resembles conventional tiles in its shape and coloring.

[0024] The interlocking system differs according to whether it is to be positioned on the right-hand or left-hand edge of the covering (FIG. 3 bis, no. 13).

[0025] The border element for a wall extending beyond the roof (FIG. 4) is designed to be laid at the edge of the covering if the architecture of the building has a wall extending beyond the roof.

[0026] On its surface, the border element for an extending wall consists of half of a convex cover element (14) and resembles conventional tiles in its shape and coloring.

[0027] The underside has two vertical supports along the whole length of the element, one of these supports being toothed for interlocking with the channel element (15).

[0028] The fifth element, called the “roof peak” (FIG. 5), consists on its surface of a convex part (16) resembling the appearance of a conventional covering such as tiling. The underside has a toothed locking system in the form of spikes positioned at regular intervals (FIG. 5 bis, no. 17), in such a way as to facilitate its penetration into conventional sealing materials such as cement and lime.

[0029] Method of producing the roof covering with the aid of the elements described above.

[0030] This type of covering to which the present invention relates can be constructed equally well from the right or from the left of the roof, in other words without any predetermined sequence.

[0031] It is only appropriate for frameworks whose purlins or beams are placed horizontally.

[0032] The assembly procedure is executed as follows:

[0033] Take the first concave channel element (FIG. 1), offer it up to the edge of the framework, and screw it on to the horizontal purlins, using the pre-formed holes (FIG. 1, no. 5).

[0034] Then take another concave channel element, place it on the framework, juxtaposing it with the first concave element, with the aid of the guiding and positioning grooves present on its sides (FIG. 1, no. 4), and fix it with screws (FIG. 6, no. 18), using the holes provided for this purpose (FIG. 1, no. 5).

[0035] Repeat the same operation for each of the concave channel elements until the other edge of the framework is reached.

[0036] When laid, the concave elements reveal a flat-bottomed channel between each of them, the toothed edges of this channel allowing the positioning of the convex cover elements (FIG. 6, no. 19).

[0037] To continue the assembly operation, take one of the convex cover elements (FIG. 3), offer it up to the flat-bottomed channel formed by the assembly of the concave elements (FIG. 6), carefully ensuring that the roughened areas on the lower parts of the concave channel elements (FIG. 1 bis, no. 6) are matched with the notches of the vertical supports of the cover element (FIG. 2 bis, no. 9), to provide a perfect alignment on the lower horizontal edge of the covering.

[0038] When this operation is completed, it is simply necessary to exert a pressure on the whole length of the cover element to make the toothed parts of the vertical supports of the cover element interlock with the toothed parts of the flat-bottomed channel (FIG. 7).

[0039] Repeat the operation for each of the convex cover elements until the other edge of the roof is reached.

[0040] On completion of the assembly of the concave and convex elements, it is necessary to position the border elements (FIG. 3 or FIG. 3 bis and FIG. 4), chosen according to the architecture of the building.

[0041] If the chosen border element is that of FIG. 3, offer it up in such a way that its toothed part and its groove interlock with the toothed part and the groove of the edge channel element (FIG. 8).

[0042] If the chosen border element is that of FIG. 4, only the toothed part of this element interlocks with the toothed part of the channel element, since the border element of FIG. 4 is designed to bear on a wall which extends beyond the roof (FIG. 9).

[0043] To complete the assembly of the covering, it is simply necessary to lay a strip of conventional sealing material such as cement or lime along the whole central ridge of the roof, so that the so-called “roof peak” element can be fixed by exerting a pressure on the element in such a way that the locking system penetrates the conventional sealing (FIG. 10).

[0044] When completed with this device, the whole covering has the appearance of a conventional roof (FIG. 11). 

1. The covering system consisting of longitudinal modular single-piece elements which are assembled to form a roof covering, these elements being molded in a light material such as plastic, resin or composite, resembling the appearance and coloring of a conventional vertical row of roof covering such as tiling, characterized in that said system consists of a plurality of longitudinal elements of variable length which can be adapted to the production of a roof covering, namely a concave channel element, a convex cover element, border elements and a so-called “roof peak” element, these elements being laid by the simultaneous juxtaposition and overlapping of each of the different elements which have incorporated guiding, positioning and assembly systems interacting with the adjacent and covering parts to prevent the separation of the parts form each other and their sliding with respect to each other, while preserving the general esthetic appearance of a conventional covering, the convex and concave elements having toothed parts for interlocking them with each other, the concave elements being fixed directly to the framework.
 2. The covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the concave channel element (FIG. 1) has a flat part on its underside (1) and a concave part (2) on its surface, resembling the channel of a conventional tiled roof, whose projecting edges are toothed at regular intervals as far as the base (3) to permit the assembly of the convex cover element (FIG. 2), the lateral parts of the element being in the form of projections having at their ends guiding and positioning notches for the adjacent elements (4) and, at regular intervals, holes for fixing by screwing on the framework (5), these holes being spaced at intervals of approximately ten centimeters to permit screwing on to various types of frameworks, the element having at its lower end two roughened areas, one on each of its lateral projections, for locking the convex cover element (FIG. 1 bis, no. 6), only the concave part resembling the tile projecting from the flat part at said lower end in order to complete the esthetic appearance of the roof edge (FIG. 1 bis, no. 7).
 3. The covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the convex cover element (FIG. 2) has on its underside two vertical toothed supports (8) extending over the whole length of the element, for positioning and assembling the element on the channel elements (FIG. 1), and in that it has at its lower end a notch on each of the two vertical supports (FIG. 2 bis, no. 9), corresponding to the roughened areas of the channel element (FIG. 1 bis, no. 6), for locking the cover element, only the convex part resembling the tile projecting from the two supports at said lower end in order to complete the esthetic appearance of the roof edge (FIG. 2 bis, no. 10).
 4. The covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the border element to be placed on the edge of the roof (FIG. 3) has an asymmetric convex part (11) on its surface and an interlocking system comprising a lateral projection and a vertical toothed support (FIG. 3, no. 12) on its underside, interacting with the lateral projections and the toothed parts of the concave element, the interlocking system differing according to whether it is to be positioned on the right-hand or left-hand edge of the roof covering (FIG. 3 bis, no. 13).
 5. The covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the border element to be placed against a wall extending beyond the roof (FIG. 4) has half of a convex cover element (14) on its surface and two vertical supports (15), one of which is toothed and is to be interlocked with the channel element (15), on its underside.
 6. Covering system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the so-called “roof peak” element (FIG. 5) has on its surface a convex part (16) resembling the appearance of a conventional covering such as tiling, and in that it has on its underside a toothed locking element in the form of spikes, positioned at regular intervals (FIG. 5 bis, no. 17), in such a way as to facilitate its penetration into conventional sealing materials such as cement or lime.
 7. The covering system as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the border element to be placed on the edge of the roof (FIG. 3) has an asymmetric convex part (11) on its surface and an interlocking system comprising a lateral projection and a vertical toothed support (FIG. 3, no. 12) on its underside, interacting with the lateral projections and the toothed parts of the concave element, the interlocking system differing according to whether it is to be positioned on the right-hand or left-hand edge of the roof covering (FIG. 3 bis, no. 13).
 8. The covering system as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the border element to be placed on the edge of the roof (FIG. 3) has an asymmetric convex part (11) on its surface and an interlocking system comprising a lateral projection and a vertical toothed support (FIG. 3, no. 12) on its underside, interacting with the lateral projections and the toothed parts of the concave element, the interlocking system differing according to whether it is to be positioned on the right-hand or left-hand edge of the roof covering (FIG. 3 bis, no. 13).
 9. The covering system as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the border element to be placed against a wall extending beyond the roof (FIG. 4) has half of a convex cover element (14) on its surface and two vertical supports (15), one of which is toothed and is to be interlocked with the channel element (15), on its underside. 